Device for preventing flat feet.



PATENTED AUG. 11, 1903.

C. L. DARBY. DEVICE FOR PREVENTING PLAT EEET.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 30, 1902.

N0 MODEL,

q o-i cme we a wueuioz able.

Patented August l 1, 1903.

PATENT Orricn.

CATHARINE L. DARBY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

DEVICE FOR PREVENTING FL-AT FEET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Lettez-s Patent No. 735,860, dated August 11, 1903.

Application filed June 30, 1902.

To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GATHARINE L. DARBY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Preventing Flat Feet, of which the following is a clear, full, and exact description.

My invention relates to a device for preventing or curing flat feet. It is well known that so-called fiat feet is a deformity in whichv the arch of the foot at the instep is broken down or does not exist. This allows the bones of the foot at the instep to sink down just like a broken arch, and the weight of the body drives these bones downward and results in a foot which has no upward curve in the sole at the instep; but the sole is flat at this point and even curves downwardly at this point in many cases. This dislocation of the bones is a deformity'which not only destroys the outline of the foot, but is also very painful in most cases, as the bones work on each other in walking in a manner they should not, and usually prevents the person so afflicted from walking with comfort or without pain. This deformity has been considered by the medical profession to be incur- I have found, however, that if the toes of the foot are sharply turned up-that is, at a large angle to the sole of the foot and preferably so far back as they can be without pain-the bones of the foot automatically form or tend to form an arch at the instep, as they should, and if this turning up of the toes is continued the bones will eventually come back into their proper places and form the normal arch at the instep, and the deformity can in this way be cured. 'I have, in fact,

. cured several cases of flat feet in this way,

andI believe that the discovery of this method of curing flat feet is novel with me.

In the drawings, which show the preferred embodiment of my invention, Figure 1 shows the device in perspective, and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical cross-section with the foot in position and showing in dotted lines the outline of a fiat foot.

In the above embodiment the means for holding in position the ball of the foot, and preferably the whole of the foot also, consists of a sole-piece 1, having a turned-up heelpiece 2, against which the heel rests, and a arch to form in the foot.

Serial No. 113,741. (No model.)

strap 3 or other device attached to the-sole: piece, which passes across the ball of the foot, as shown in Fig. 2, and holds the ball of the foot down against the sole-piece and prevents it from rising up.

4. is a toe-piece against which the toes rest and is adapted to hold them sharply turned up, as shown in Fig. 2, which will cause the An ordinary flat foot isshown in dotted lines 5 5 in Fig. 2 and the same foot in full lines when the toes are turned up. This will cause the arch to form or tend to form, and after wearing the device for a time the bones will form the natural arch and the deformity will be eventually cured.

My device can be used as a shoe or sandal and can be worn in walking without discomfort, so that it may be worn continuously, if desired; but usually if it is worn at night while the patient is in bed it will soon give great relief and eventually cure the deformity.

6 is a strap which may be provided to assist in holding the foot in proper position and also to vary the angle of the toe-piece 4. When the strap 6 is in position, as shown, it will hold the toe-piece unyieldingly in place that is, so that the pressure of the toes will not turn it down, but will cause the toe-piece to stand in this turned-up position and hold the toes sharply turned up, and this is what Imean by the words unyielding toe-piece. This strap may pass through slits in the toe and heel pieces, as shown, and both it and strap 3 may be provided with buckles or other adjusting devices, if desired.

1 am aware that many variations from the embodiment above described may be made without departing from my invention as claimed, and I therefore do not limit myself to the construction herein described and illustrated.

What I claim is 1. In a device for curing fiat feet in combination, a sole having at one end an upwardlyextending portion against which the back portion of a foot may rest, and a retaining portion attached to said sole near the'other end and extending across said sole above the same and adapted to hold the ball of the foot down upon said sole, said sole having an upwardly-extending unyielding toe-piece near said retaining portion and adapted to hold the toes sharply turned up.

2. In a device for curing flat feet in combination, a sole having at one end an upwardlyextending portion against which the back portion of a foot may rest, and a retaining portion attached to said sole near the other end and extending across said sole above the same and adapted to hold the ball of the foot down upon said sole, means to adjust the length of said retaining portion, said sole having an upwardly-extending unyielding toe-piece near said retaining portion and adapted to hold the toes sharply turned up.

3. In a device for curing flat feet in combination, a sole having at one end an upwardlyextending portion against which the back portion of a foot may rest, and a retaining portion attached to said sole near the other end and extending across said sole above the same and adapted to hold the ball of the foot down upon said sole, means to adjust the length of said retaining portion, said sole having an upward1y-extending unyielding toe-piece near said retaining portion and adapted to hold the toes sharply turned up, and means to adjust the angle of said toe-piece and hold the same in its adjusted position.

4. In a device for curing flat feet in cornbi= nation, a sole-piece having a strap attached thereto and a turned-up heel-piece to hold the ball of the foot in position, and a toe-piece consisting of a portion turned up from said sole-piece and against which the toes may rest and adapted to hold them sharply turned up so as to cause an arch to form at the instep of the foot.

5. In a device for curing fiat feet in combination, a sole-piece having a strap attached thereto and a turned-up heel-piece to hold the ball of the foot in position, and a toe-piece consisting of a portion turned up from said sole-piece and against which the toes may rest and adapted to hold them sharply turned up so as to cause an arch to form. at the instep of the foot, and an adjustable strap connecting said toe and heel pieces to assist in holding them in position and adapted to adjust the angle between said toe-piece and sole-piece.

Signed at New York, N. Y., this 19th day of June, 1902.

CATHARINE L. DARBY. Witnesses:

EMERSON R. NEWELL, THOMAS F. HASTINGS. 

